The crew of the Greek trireme consisted of
approximately 200 men
: 30 regular crew and 170 rowers. The regular crew included officers and sailors to run the ship and archers and spearmen for added combat effectiveness. The trierarch, or captain of the trireme, was usually a wealthy citizen of Athens.
How big is a trireme?
The hull was a thin shell of planks joined edge-to-edge and then stiffened by a keel and light transverse ribs. Such light construction enabled the trireme to displace only 40 tons on an overall length of
approximately 120 feet (37 metres)
and a beam of 18 feet (5.5 metres); no ballast was used.
How many men could a trireme transport?
The use of lightwoods meant that the ship could be carried ashore by as
few as 140 men
, but also that the hull soaked up water, which adversely affected its speed and maneuverability.
How many soldiers could a Roman ship carry?
There were up to 300 rowers and 40 marines, as well as sailors and officers, in all, nearly 400 men. They could also carry
about 100 soldiers
.
How many men can a war galley hold?
They could be manned by crews of
up to 1,000 men
and were employed in both trade and warfare. A further boost to the development of the large merchant galleys was the upswing in Western European pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land.
How much could a trireme carry?
The trireme was able to hold
170 oarsmen
because the method of construction did not require large longitudinal and transverse timbers for the interior.
How much does a trireme weigh?
The authors rightly emphasized that the trireme was an extremely light vessel for its size. They estimated its weight to be
“less than 40 tons
” on a length of 121 feet.
Although Rome had relied on her legions for the conquest of Italy,
operations in Sicily had to be supported by a fleet
, and the ships available by Rome’s allies were insufficient. Thus in 261 BC, the Roman Senate set out to construct a fleet of 100 quinqueremes and 20 triremes.
The Romans are not remembered as a maritime superpower. In fact, they
didn’t have much of a navy to speak of until the First Punic War
(264 BCE). It was these wars against Carthage which acted as a catalyst for Rome to develop a naval force to control the entire Mediterranean basin.
How did taking prisoners as slaves lead to unemployment?
How did taking prisoners as slaves lead to unemployment?
Roman citizens were not allowed to keep slaves. People who supported slave revolts lost their jobs
. Landowners put slaves to work instead of paying free workers.
How fast could a Roman galley go?
The estimated average speed of Renaissance-era galleys was fairly low, only 3 to 4 knots, and a mere 2 knots when holding formation. Short bursts
of up to 7 knots
were possible for about 20 minutes, but only at the risk of exhausting rowers.
What is airplane galley?
The galley is the compartment of a ship, train, or
aircraft where food is cooked and prepared
. It can also refer to a land-based kitchen on a naval base, or, from a kitchen design point of view, to a straight design of the kitchen layout.
How big was a Viking ship?
Ranging from
45 to 75 feet (14 to 23 metres) in length
, clinker-built (with overlapped planks), and carrying a single square sail, the longship was exceptionally sturdy in heavy seas.
How many men are in a warship?
Lengths of 200 feet (60 metres) became common for such ships, which displaced 1,200 to 2,000 tons and had crews of
600 to 800 men
.
Who won the Persian War?
Though the outcome of battles seemed to tip in Persia’s favor (such as the famed battle at Thermopylae where a limited number of Spartans managed to wage an impressive stand against the Persians),
the Greeks
won the war. There are two factors that helped the Greeks defeat the Persian Empire.
